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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25308619">Unspoken</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ezazahaz/pseuds/ezazahaz'>ezazahaz</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Communication, M/M, Past Tony Stark/Tiberius Stone, Protective Steve Rogers, Safewords, Tiberius Stone is an asshole, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, past bad BDSM etiquette, past dub-con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:54:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25308619</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ezazahaz/pseuds/ezazahaz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Having a safeword isn’t enough if someone’s afraid to use it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve Rogers/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>219</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Unspoken</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>"Chose not to use archive warnings" is because of past dub-con and something close to dub-con during the fic. It’s soon halted and discussed, but don’t read if that might be triggering for you.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Please... I can’t...”</p>
<p>Steve pauses, slowing the roll of his hips. He knows Tony has to be tired, but, “You can, sweetheart. You know how I know?”</p>
<p>Tony shakes his head, opening glazed eyes in question.</p>
<p>“Because if you couldn’t, you’d use your safeword, right?”</p>
<p>Tony closes his eyes again and nods.</p>
<p>Steve kisses Tony’s forehead, wet with sweat from their extended love-making. “I love you,” he whispers.</p>
<p>Something flickers across Tony’s face too fast for Steve to identify, but it gives him a moment of concern. Taking a guess, Steve emphasizes, “<em>I love you</em>, Tony, whether you safeword or not.”</p>
<p>There’s definitely something concerning in how the skin around Tony’s closed eyes wrinkle, in the tightness of his mouth.</p>
<p>Steve stops moving entirely. “Tony, what’s wrong?”</p>
<p>Tony opens his eyes and his face relaxes, but Steve doesn’t feel any better--the expression reminds him of when Tony goes blank at particularly hurtful questions during a press conference. “Nothing, you can keep going.”</p>
<p>“Do you <em>want</em> me to keep going?”</p>
<p>“I--” Tony nods, but says unconvincingly, “It’s fine.”</p>
<p>“Fine?” Steve repeats. He pulls out, rolling over onto his side facing Tony. He reaches out a hand to gently turn Tony’s face toward him. “Sweetheart, if you need to use your safeword--”</p>
<p>“No!” Tony interrupts, too quickly, his eyes showing not arousal but panic. Then, quietly, just barely audible, he adds, “I don’t want to be alone.”</p>
<p>Steve feels like the air has been punched out of him. Taking a shaky breath, he asks, “What do you think will happen if you safeword?”</p>
<p>Tony shrugs, still laying on his back, turning away to look up at the ceiling again. Steve moves his hand down to grip Tony’s hand, interlacing their fingers. Tony doesn’t return the grip, but he doesn’t pull away either. “We stop. You leave.”</p>
<p>“Why would I leave?” Steve asks incredulously.</p>
<p>Tony tilts his head back just enough to give a pointed look at Steve’s crotch. While he has no intent on continuing their earlier activity, his dick has not yet gotten that message. “You have needs. You may as well take care of them yourself if I can’t.”</p>
<p>Steve’s grip on Tony’s hand tightens, though he stops himself before tightening enough to actually hurt Tony. “Who did this to you?”</p>
<p>Tony’s eyes, focused on the ceiling again, crinkle in confusion. “What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“Who taught you that using a safeword meant being abandoned?” Steve has a guess, and wonders if this’ll be the time he finally demands an address from JARVIS and hunts down Tony’s abusive ex-boyfriend.</p>
<p>Tony shrugs, then confirms, “Ty, I guess, mostly. But one-night stands also don’t tend to stick around if you don’t want to keep doing what you invited them in for. I don’t blame them.”</p>
<p>Steve most definitely does. He figures JARVIS probably can’t get addresses on those individuals, but might ask later anyway. </p>
<p>“Tony,” Steve says firmly, and pauses a moment to get Tony to look over and make eye contact with him. “I will never leave after you safeword, unless you ask me to. <em>Never.</em> My needs at this point are to care for you and to get you what you need to recover. What do you need?”</p>
<p>Tony is quiet for a moment, then takes a deep shuddering breath that turns into a sob. His eyes get watery and he takes more gasping breaths, rolling onto his side facing Steve and curling in on himself.</p>
<p>“Can I--” Steve starts, desperately wanting, but realizing how important his phrasing is right now. “Do you want me to hold you?”</p>
<p>A slight nod of Tony’s head is accompanied by arms shakily reaching out, so Steve shifts forward to hold his crying lover tightly against his chest. He’s distantly relieved that his dick has finally realized this is not the time for more action. He focuses on holding Tony, rubbing his back in constant circles, pressing kisses into his hair, murmuring calming nonsense interspersed with “I love you”s.</p>
<p>Eventually Tony’s breathing evens out, but he’s still tense enough Steve can tell he hasn’t fallen asleep.</p>
<p>Tony pulls back a bit--still close enough that Steve can keep his hands on Tony’s shoulders--and looks up at him through wet lashes. Then he seems to notice his nose is running from crying, and gives such a look of disgust that Steve almost wants to laugh, the emotion a refreshingly light counterpoint to the deeper emotions they’re dealing with.</p>
<p>But when Steve starts to turn to grab the tissues from his side of the bed, Tony whimpers a protest. “It’s okay, sweetheart, not going anywhere, just grabbing you some tissues.”</p>
<p>Tony calms but doesn’t give him much more room to shift, and there’s a momentary pain in Steve’s side as he stretches for the tissue box one-handed. He succeeds, though, and sets the tissues in the small space between them.</p>
<p>After Tony’s cleaned up a bit, he moves the tissues aside and makes eye contact with Steve. “I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>Steve shakes his head and replies firmly, “You have nothing to be sorry for.”</p>
<p>“This can’t be how you wanted tonight to go.”</p>
<p>“I wanted to spend time with the man I love. Of course I wanted you to enjoy it, but the fact that you didn’t is <em>not your fault</em>.” Most of it is the fault of Tiberius Stone and some unknown one-night-stands who had probably just wanted bragging rights for bedding the famous Tony Stark. But, Steve acknowledges, it is his own fault as well. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize it sooner.”</p>
<p>Tony shakes his head. “I didn’t want you to,” he replies dismissively.</p>
<p>Suddenly a thought occurs to Steve and his stomach churns in horror. He has to swallow and breathe through his nose a few times to be sure he isn’t actually going to vomit. “You didn’t... how many...” He swallows again. “How many other times have you wanted me to stop, but not safeworded because you were afraid I’d leave?” God, had he unknowingly <em>raped</em> the man he loved?</p>
<p>“Hey, no, Steve,” Tony puts a hand on Steve’s chest, “Breathe.”</p>
<p>And now Tony’s the one looking at <em>Steve</em> in concern, and Steve realizes his breathing is fast and uneven, and he forces himself to calm because this is about <em>Tony’s</em> feelings, not his.</p>
<p>Once his breathing is under control, he asks again, quietly. “How many?”</p>
<p>The pause is almost undetectable. Almost. “Zero.”</p>
<p>“Tony.”</p>
<p>Tony sighs. “I... once or twice, I might’ve thought about it. Briefly. But then you seemed to pick up on that, changed what you were doing, and I ended up enjoying it.” Tony’s eyes drill into his, radiating sincerity. “I love sex with you, Steve. Really.”</p>
<p>Steve lets himself feel some relief at that, though there’s still a niggle of guilt that probably won’t ever go away. More importantly, “I need to know that you’ll tell me whenever that’s not true.”</p>
<p>“I will. I mean, it was good this time, until... it was just a little too much.”</p>
<p>“And you didn’t tell--” Steve interrupts himself as he realizes, “You did tell me. But I didn’t believe you because you didn’t safeword.” He sighs. “We’re not doing that again. You say <em>anything</em> along the lines of ‘no’ or ‘I can’t’, I’m going to stop and ask what you need, and you’re going to tell me. If you need to keep going, we can. If you need to stop and cuddle, then we’ll do that.”</p>
<p>“What if I need you to perform ‘The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan’?” Tony’s eyes sparkle through remnants of tears, a playful smile on his face.</p>
<p>Steve grins wryly and shakes his head. “I could do my lines, but it won’t be as impressive without the backup dancers.”</p>
<p>“Well, I could give it a go, but I’d have to get the costume altered to fit me.”</p>
<p>Steve’s mind sputters to a stop as he imagines Tony in the short striped skirt, the backless top, the silver heels...</p>
<p>“Like that idea, huh?”</p>
<p>Steve snaps back to himself and sees Tony’s waggling eyebrows and mischievous grin. “That’s... You are trying to get me to change the subject.”</p>
<p>“The subject of kinks I didn’t know you had is a pretty good one, but I guess we can put a pin in it for now.” Tony’s grin fades. “I do like it when you push me, when you make me do more than I think I can, I don’t want to stop that entirely.”</p>
<p>“I like it, too,” Steve admits, “But I won’t like it after this unless I can trust that you’ll tell me if it tips over into <em>too much</em>. So you’re going to practice using your safeword.”</p>
<p>Steve hates how guarded Tony gets when he asks, “What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“I <em>don’t</em> mean I’m going to do anything to make you need to safeword.” Tony relaxes at that. “I just want you to use it sometimes when you don’t <em>need</em> it. Then we’ll stop, and I’ll check in with you, see if you want to keep going or not, and you’ll see that either way, I’m not leaving. I want you to stop being afraid of using a safeword, so when you really do need it, you’ll use it and know that I’ll still be here for you. Okay?”</p>
<p>There’s an intensity in Tony’s eyes, but his voice is barely a whisper when he responds, “Okay.” Then his eyes flutter and a yawn overtakes him, his exhaustion catching up to him.</p>
<p>“Seems like what you need now is sleep,” Steve says, and Tony just nods and shifts forward until his head is nestled up against Steve’s chest again.</p>
<p>Steve rests his hand on Tony’s waist, presses a kiss to his head, and whispers, “I love you.”</p>
<p>Tony gives a mumble that might be “I love you, too”, then falls asleep, safe in Steve’s arms.</p>
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